Virginia Tech's Eddie Ventresca and Lehigh's Sheldon Seymour occupy the #4 and #5 spots in the current NCAA rankings. Both finished on the podium in March, and both appear poised to make runs at the 2026 NCAA title at 125 lbs.
Nov 1, 6:00 PM CDT
Sheldon Seymour had a breakout performance during the 2024-25 NCAA season. He arrived at Lehigh in 2020 after back-to-back PIAA state title performances at Troy High School in Pennsylvania. Five years after his second state title, he reached the NCAA podium in his first ever NCAA Championship appearance.
Seymour's season was accentuated by an NCAA quarterfinal victory over Penn State freshman Luke Lilledahl who had defeated him earlier in the season. On the year, Seymour had six total losses. Three of those came against NCAA champions Richard Figueroa and Vincent Robinson, and the other three came against All-Americans Matt Ramos, Lilledahl, and All-Star Classic opponent Ventresca.
Eddie Ventresca enters has earned two All-American finishes in his two full season as a Virginia Tech starter. He was 7th at the 2023 NCAA Championships and finished two steps higher on the podium a season ago at 5th.
Ventresca's 2026 NCAA title hopes are bolstered by the fact that he is 2-0 against ACC rival Vincent Robinson, last season's NCAA champion at 125 lbs. Ventresca will play a major leadership role for the Hokies this season as they'll be without NCAA champion 149-pounder Caleb Henson who is slated to redshirt.
Match History
The first match of the season for Ventresca and Seymour will be a rematch of each wrestler's last bout from the 2024-25 season. In March, Ventresca notched an 11-4 decision against Seymour for 5th place at the 2025 NCAA Championships. Three quick leg-attack finishes led to nine of Ventresca's 11 points against Seymour who is normally one of the toughest 125-pounders to take down.
If Ventresca can get back to his quick-finishing ways at the All-Star Classic, expect a similar result, but remember that Seymour's positioning is often too much for his opponents.
2025 NWCA All-Star Classic Bout Order
Women's Matches
138 lbs - #1 Zaynah McBryde, Life vs #1 Katie Lange, Grand Valley
145 lbs - #1 Esther Kolawole, William Penn vs #2 Reese Larramendy, Iowa
160 lbs - #1 Latifah McBryde, Life vs #1 (145) Bella Mir, North Central
117 lbs - #1 Christianah Ogunsanya, William Penn vs #1 Sage Mortimer, Grand Valley
D2 vs D3 Match
141lbs - #1 Mark Samuel, Roanoke vs #1 Khyvon Grace, West Liberty
NCAA D1 Men's Matches
149lbs - #5 Casey Swiderski, Oklahoma State vs #3 Lachlan McNeil, Michigan
174lbs - #3 Simon Ruiz, Cornell vs #8 Lenny Pinto, Rutgers
197lbs - #3 Joey Novak, Wyoming vs #4 Stephen Little, Little Rock
125lbs - #4 Eddie Ventresca, VA Tech vs #5 Sheldon Seymour, Lehigh
157lbs - #5 Ty Watters, West Virginia vs #4 Daniel Cardenas, Stanford
165lbs - #4 Hunter Garvin, Stanford vs #7 Max Brignola, Lehigh
184lbs - #4 Jaxon Smith, Maryland vs #7 Zack Ryder, Oklahoma State
285lbs - #3 Yonger Bastida , Iowa State vs #4 Taye Ghadiali , Michigan
133lbs - #1 Lucas Byrd, Illinois vs #7 Dylan Shawver, Rutgers
141lbs - #7 Anthony Echemendia , Iowa State vs #1 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State
